1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network system in which an apparatus and a server are connected via a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is often the case that a user who is out of office on a business trip or the like wishes to connect a terminal that the user carries to a network. Once the connection to the network is established, it is possible to use a cloud service or to access an office server and use a stored document by connecting to, for example, the Internet.
However, in order to establish a connection to a network, it is necessary to do some setup in the portable terminal except in the case of a special network that is open to an unspecified number of users. For example, a service set identifier (SSID) and an encryption key are necessary to connect to an access point of a wireless local area network (LAN). The IP address of the portable terminal is further required to connect to the Internet. Further, in order to access an apparatus such as a printer, the IP address of the apparatus is required.
For example, if the apparatus has a display part formed from, for example, a liquid crystal, the connection information of an access point near the apparatus may be displayed on the display part. A user may access a network via the access point by setting the connection information in the portable terminal.
Further, the IP address of the portable terminal is dynamically provided by, for example, a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server. The IP address of the apparatus as well is dynamically assigned by, for example, the DHCP server. When the user accesses the apparatus using the portable terminal, the apparatus displays the IP address of the apparatus. The user sets the IP address of the apparatus in the portable terminal, so that the portable terminal and the apparatus may communicate with each other. Even if the IP address of the apparatus delivered by the DHCP server is different at every delivery, it is possible for the user to set the IP address of the apparatus in the portable terminal.
However, it is considered undesirable for security reasons to display connection information in a human readable manner. Therefore, one idea is to cause the apparatus, for example, a multifunction peripheral (MFP), to convert connection information into a barcode. (See, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2007-164448.) Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2007-164448 discloses an operation system where an operation apparatus reads a QR code (a registered trademark) (hereinafter, this notation is omitted) displayed by an electronic apparatus and transmits an identification code included in the QR code to the electronic apparatus via a cellular phone base station, and the electronic apparatus performs an operation received from the operation apparatus when the received identification code matches the identification code included in the displayed QR code.